Zoo Pair to Pack Up and Head West

For Immediate Release: April 8, 2014

Riverbanks Announces Animals on the Move

[Columbia, SC] — One of Riverbanks Zoo and Garden’s most popular pairs will soon be temporarily transferred to Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma as part of Riverbanks’ $32-million dollar park-wide expansion and development project.

Guests are encouraged to stop by and see Butch and Sundance, the Zoo’s grizzly bears, prior to the duo’s departure. The bears will be moved off exhibit after Sunday, April 20, in preparation for the transfer. Butch and Sundance will reside at Tulsa Zoo until work is complete on Riverbanks’ all-new grizzly bear and otter habitat which is expected to open in the spring of 2015.

As Riverbanks spreads its wings, guests will also notice the relocation of some other animals. To make way for the enhanced grizzly bear habitat, the Zoo’s Hamadryas baboons will soon reside in the old hyena exhibit (the hyenas are permanently off exhibit and will soon be transferred to another AZA-accredited facility). The ring-tailed and red ruffed lemurs will soon have a new home in Riverbanks Conservation Outpost (RCO tunnel) while the howler monkeys will leave RCO for permanent homes at another AZA institution.

Also in the next couple of months, Zoo guests will see the return of a familiar face. Little Boy, Riverbanks’ American alligator, will be back later this spring when construction is complete at Tuskers—Columbia’s wildest new restaurant and rental facility. Little Boy is being cared for temporarily at Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach while the lagoon is expanded and a deck is added to the outside of the restaurant.

In addition, the African Savanna exhibit is now home to two new members of the giraffe herd. Glenda came to Riverbanks in late January from Zoo Atlanta and Bruce arrived in February from Jacksonville Zoo. Guests can visit with the entire herd daily at Giraffe Overlook. The public feeding platform is open daily from 10:00am–1:30pm (or until the giraffes eat their daily allotment).